Business leaders tackle climate change at USD forum

Business leaders addressed the risks and challenges of climate change at a two day conference at the University of San Diego last week.

The event was co-sponsored the San Diego Foundation and by CERES, a national coalition of business groups and investors advocating for sustainability.

“We’re bringing together a variety of stakeholders, planner, city leaders, business leaders and insurance executives to discuss building resilience to climate risk,” said Cynthia McHale, insurance director for Ceres.

Resilience refers to methods of building or revising communities to shore up their defenses against problems such as sea level rise, wildfire, water shortages and extreme weather expected as a result of climate warming.

“A lot of these risks tend to be risks our clients want us to manage,” said Mark Way, head of sustainability in the Americas for Swiss Re, an international re-insurance firm, which insures retail insurers against large claims for events such as natural disasters.

Spotting record-breaking natural disasters occurring with record frequency, insurance companies were quick to recognize the role of climate change in their risk analysis, insurance experts said.

“Higher resilience means lower loss,” Way said. “You have to think about where you build, how you build and what you build.”

Private investment, as well as public planning, must play a role in that effort, experts said.

For instance, new building standards should employ materials resistant to both floods and wildfires, and incorporate renewable energy sources to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, said Brian Holland, director of climate programs for the International Council on Local Environmental Initiatives.